How to Select the Perfect Wood Stove for your Lifestyle

When you’re shopping for a wood stove, you need to evaluate the following:

1. Style
2. Construction
3. Size

STYLE

If you’re looking for a contemporary style, you need look no further than Morsø. For the past 150 years, these cast-iron wood stoves, crafted in Denmark, have been touted as world-class.

CONSTRUCTION

Morsø stoves are unique in that they aren’t welded, but are bound with ceramic string and bolted together with screws so they’re sealed perfectly.

Morsø stoves use cast iron that’s nearly twice as thick as stoves made of sheet iron, which means they retain and distribute heat longer.

SIZE

Size does matter when it comes to wood stoves. Here are some questions you should ask that will help you evaluate which size and model of stove to buy:

Local climate

1. How long and intense is the cold season where I live?

Here in the Pacific Northwest, the length and intensity of our winters is – well – short and small.  Unless your wood stove will your sole source of heat, or if you’re heating over 2,000 square feet, you can probably get away with a small or medium-sized stove.

Inside temperature preferences

1. Do you like it really warm and toasty? Or just moderately warm?

How you’ll use your stove

1. Will your wood stove supplement an existing heating system?
2. Will you use your wood stove to cut back on oil, gas, or electric energy consumption?
3. Will you be heating an entire home with your wood stove?

Weatherization

1. How well is your home insulated?
2. Is there a tight seal on your doors?
3. Do you have thermal-pane windows?

Heating area

Here are some pointers that will help you determine whether you need a small, medium, or large wood stove:

Small stove

• For heating 1,000-1,200 square feet
• Ideal for heating living rooms, kitchens, bedrooms, seasonal cabins and cottages
• Ideal for zone heating larger homes equipped with central heating – you can save 20-30% in energy costs by supplementing with a small wood stove

Medium stove

• For heating 1,200-2,000 square feet
• Well-suited to heating older, small homes or medium-sized energy-efficient homes
• Also good for cottages and cabins

Large stove

• For heating 2,000 square feet
• Ideal for heating large, open plan houses or older, drafty medium-sized homes

This video from our friends at Morsø walks you through your options:

Related articles on our blog about Morsø Stoves

Morsø European-Style Wood Stoves: Where Green is a Way of Life

Preview Morsø stoves in your own virtual living room

See a Morsø Stove Up Close and Personal

Stop by any of Rich's Puget Sound showrooms in Lynnwood, Bellevue, Southcenter, Tacoma, or Silverdale.

Subscribe to Rich’s blog

Subscribe to our blog via your feed reader or receive our latest posts in your e-mail Inbox. Simply click “Subscribe to this blog’s feed” or fill out the form located in the right-hand sidebar of our blog.

  ‘Like’ Rich’s on Facebook

We also provide daily tips and Internet-only specials on our Facebook page. Hope you’ll “like” us, and encourage your Facebook friends to join us, too.